Vampire Weekend's newest, Contra, is fairly unimpressive. What we get is a slightly more refined and better produced version of their debut. The quasi-afro-beat influence, along with regurgitated new-wave, create nice background music for a college party. Thankfully, great production values and decent instrumentation still save an otherwise unfortunate serious listening experience.

I remember when some friends of mine in college were trying to turn me onto Pele, and instrumental band they dug on PolyVinyl (oh, my friends were from Chicago, and we were in western Michigan, thus the Lake-Michigan-centric musical taste) â€¦ I never really got into them at the time however. Then, not too long ago, I got a hold of a Collections of Colonies of Bees album. It was great.

It's becoming fall, which means that the stores are starting to put their pumpkin ales back on the shelf. Last year I took a few months to sample as many ales as possible from this specific category. This year, I am carrying on the tradition.

Woodpigeon's sophomore release sounds like a lot of things. It sounds like Canada's version of Sufjan Stevens. At times it sounds like an undiscovered demo from the late Elliot Smith that was remastered and completed by some other band. It sounds folky. It sounds moody.

I saw this the other day, and thought it was pretty good. The song is catchy, the Thunderheist logo is awesome (a ripoff of the Van Halen logo), and the video is clever. Oh, and the way the girl is dressed in this, I think she goes to MICA... Enjoy.

I was on a design trip to Europe for a few weeks after finishing my spring term, so I let the site slip into disrepair a little. I am now back and ready for action however, and we will get the reviews flowing, and get Karsten set up with his new MP3 column, where he talks about a favorite song, and we offer it up for limited-download. Hurray.

As the story goes, This album just fell out of Justin Vernon as he spent the winter in a cabin in northern Wisconsin. Recorded on minimal equipment with only a drum, guitar, and layers of his voice, he creates a sound that pulls you in, and lets you drift.

Well considering the last post was over a month and a half ago, and that there's supposedly three people posting on this site, that is pretty sad. BUT GOOD NEWS!!!!!
I finally Got my trusty turntable shipped to me. My beauteous Pioneer jidga-whomp! I've been waiting for September for this day, and finally today 5 boxes showed up containing my collection of LP's and the ol' Pioneer.

This sounds too crazy to actually be true, but it is. Some kids (a brother and sister) have gotten together and kicked out some jams under the moniker Death Killers and they are awesome. Check out some mp3s here www.wfmu.org/onthedownload.php. Keep on rocking.

I had high hopes for Mobius Band when I heard a sample off of this album on itunes. The next time I was in the record shop, I looked it up and the album was only 10 bucks. So after a few listens I came to this conclusion, Heaven is an alright album.

As the newest addition to the Sound Machine Dream team, I thought it might be polite to introduce myself before we get down to business. (Eventually I'll be playing matchmaker for a couple songs each week.)

This is not brand new stuff, but it is on the newer end of my current listening spectrum. The Pipettes are a fanciful girl group and are part of the current mo-town revival that has come into muscial vogue as of late. They do a really nice job of creating vintage inspired songs that still sound fresh and modern.

Here I am, in month number four of "waiting for my turntable to arrive." Back in september I moved into a larger home, and went back to michigan to collect a few items, the most prized of them was my turntable. My mother, who had promised to ship it soon, has yet to full fill that promise, and I wait here in New York, the mecca of record shops, making a very long list of records to purchase.

Everyone, prepare! our belated 2007 favorites are on their way. We are figuring out the best way to share them with you, but fear not, everything is coming soon! Drew, one Karsten Lund, and I have all compiled genius playlists for you to relive 2007 with. Prepare to have your sonic minds blown! Look for the entries soon!